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In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

This is my first year with a SWG and I am working on getting all the fittings and lines I need to plumb everything up. I have previously used an in-line chlorinator with 3" pucks. Should I plumb this in as well and just leave it empty except for when we will be gone? I am not sure how to plumb it in - should I have a bypass for the SWG so I can just turn it off when we leave? I have an Intex SWG and my concern is if the power goes off while we are gone than the SWG will lose its programming and not work.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

I like the floater idea. We leave our pool unattended several times during the season. Our procedure has been to raise the FC to shock levels and turn off the pump before we leave, the concern being that we might have a power outage (common in these parts) and that a subsequent surge could burn out the pump. Yeah, pretty anal, I know, but it's what we do.

Throwing in a floater, even with the pump turned off, is a great idea. It'll feed some chlorine into the water even if there's no mechanical circulation. I'm going to try that, and thanks for the fish!

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

I'll go ahead and vote for the floater. Since you're plumbing everything I'd put a bypass in for the SWG even if I didn't install a chlorinator. That way you can still run the pool with the SWG removed by just turning a few valves.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

My SWG is wired into the pump timer and set to come on when the pump is on. It has the option to be its own independent timer, which at first seemed like a good idea until I thought about what happens when there is a power glitch. If you wire the SWG to the pump timer then it will be on every time the pump is on. We get lots of lightning and power blips here in Florida and when I go away on a week long trip I don't do anything special to the pool before we leave.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

If I don't plumb in the chlorinator, the flow will still go through the SWG when the pump is running, even if the SWG is not turned on, right?

Correct, but if for some reason you have to remove the SWG then you'll have to connect the inlet and outlet pipes in order to run the pump.

Originally Posted by 4boys531

Will the floater work ok if my solar blanket is on?

Good question. If you placed it out under the blanket away from the pool wall it would still provide chlorine in that area, and that would still eventually get dispersed if it lasted long enough but free floating would be better. Maybe someone will have more experience with it and can enlighten us.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

Yes, the flow through the Intex is only determined by the pump, it will not be affected by whether the unit is programmed to operate or not.
The solar blanket will probably keep the floater from moving about the pool, so I would try to place it in the middle. The area around the floater will have a higher FC, and if it sits against a wall might bleach it some.
You can also use the tablet feeder with the Intex, that is what I do. You might need chlorine when the water is too cold for the Intex to generate much, and the tablets will also boost the CYA (which is good if it dipped over the winter.) The tablet feeder and the Intex are both designed for high FC, so it won't hurt them. It is usually recommended to put the SWG as the last piece of equipment in line.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

Originally Posted by 4boys531

Will the floater work ok if my solar blanket is on?

It will if you have a pool cleaner in the pool and you tie a string to it to drag the floater around! I like to suggest that for those that use the floaters so that they don't sit in one spot in the pool (like they tend to; right over a step and degrade the finish in that area!) and move the chlorine around a bit

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

Originally Posted by simicrintz

Originally Posted by 4boys531

Will the floater work ok if my solar blanket is on?

It will if you have a pool cleaner in the pool and you tie a string to it to drag the floater around! I like to suggest that for those that use the floaters so that they don't sit in one spot in the pool (like they tend to; right over a step and degrade the finish in that area!) and move the chlorine around a bit

That's a great idea. That is unless you have a tempermental Baracuda like I do, in which case I could tether my floater to it and it would probably bog the Baracuda down and result in the degradation of the Baracuda finish! Funnies aside, that's a good idea.

Re: In-Line Chlorinator for when I am gone?

No cleaner in OP's specs, and anyway I wouldn't tether a floater to the cleaner if there's a cover. Just park the cleaner under the cover in the middle somewhere. OP wasn't going to turn the pump off for the week, just the SWG.
--paulr